The Kolkhoz Kitty
by The-Grim-Prince
Summary: Due to one of England's magical mishaps, Russia is transformed into a harmless little cat. He's dumped on Toris to take care of, who doesn't realize who his new friend is. What no one knows is that there's a time limit on this change. When time is up...
1. To a Loving Home

(( Hi! Welcome to this fanfic! It is a request from XxxLavixAllenxxX, so the idea isn't entirely mine. lol

Information time~ Over the past 5 years, trade between the UK and Russia has increased quite a bit. The UK has been investing substantially in Russia, and was the biggest investor in 2006 and 2007. Just a tidbit of info for the first chapter.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this story! Let me just quickly say that this is fan-made and I am not claiming to own Axis Powers Hetalia in any way.

Chapter one… Commence! ))

:::

"These don't taste good. Not at all," Russia said with his usual 'gentle' smile, dumping his plate of tea biscuits into the garbage right in front of his gracious host.

England couldn't but let out a very faint sigh of frustration, careful not to let that damn Kolkhoz hear it. This was getting very tiresome, Ivan coming over often to check up on their trade agreements. Very. Tiresome. Not to mention that he was so disrespectful of Arthur's compliance. True, the other nations were sure to let him know that his cooking sucked, but Russia somehow seemed to be even more of a bastard because of his 'pleasant' attitude.

"That's too bad," Arthur distantly said, trying to shrug this off. Ivan's pipe happened to be leaning against the dining room corner, within close proximity. He did not want the thing to be touched until Russia was leaving. "What is it that you want me to agree to this time?" _The sooner you get out, the happier I'll be…_

"Oh! Yes! About that," Ivan said with a smile, turning to look at his host. "Your investments this year."

England stiffened up, pretty much knowing what would come next.

"You had the most last year and the year before. 2006 and 2007. Though, this year… England didn't have the most." Russia smiled. It was a smile that any stranger would think was nice, but every nation knew was bad news.

"So I let it slip a bit. I was a bit preoccupied with managing several trade agreements while America was bothering me with NAFTA being launched," Arthur explained irritably.

"I see," Ivan simply said. He paused for a second, then started to walk closer to where England was seated, with his half-finished tea and untouched pastries. "It won't happen again, da?"

"Accidents happen," Arthur bluntly said.

Ivan stopped in front of his host, then swiftly slammed his hand onto the table menacingly. "It won't happen again, da?" he repeated, a shadow cast over his eyes.

England was a little nervous now, leaning backwards away from the other a bit.

"Go get the paperwork," Russia demanded with his trademark deceivingly kind tone of voice.

Arthur kept himself from letting out another sigh. He got up to go do so, just wanting that damn Kolkhoz out of his house as soon as possible. Russia just watched after him, straightening his posture again while loosely clasping his hands together in front of him.

England closed the door to the dining room behind himself, letting out a pent-up breath. He quietly walked away towards his study, an angry frown written all over his face. This was a fine mess that he had gotten himself into. No, no… It wasn't his fault. It was Russia's fault completely!

Arthur let himself into his study, firmly closing the door. He locked it.

Something had to be done about this. He wasn't sure how much of Russia's pestering he could take, after tons of phone calls and this surprise visit. It was ridiculous to be expected to make the most investments in the larger country. He wasn't opposed to being in good favor with Russia, he just couldn't stand being threatened to do so.

England smiled to himself. He had the perfect idea to alleviate this situation for a while, if not remedy it completely. Not wanting to waste one minute, in fear of that damn Kolkhoz stumbling upon this, Arthur retrieved his chalk and candles from the lowest drawer in his desk. He set them on the bookshelf near his spell book to go yank aside the rug, revealing the beautiful hardwood floor. He then quickly set to work drawing the right circle and setting up the candles, based on what the book instructed.

England went to turn off the lights and stand beside his circle. Opening the book to the right page, he read over the incantation with a smile. Without further delay, Arthur started to recite the lines with his eyes closed. He muttered the spell's words in order, repeating the last two lines several times as the candles burned brighter.

Finally, he ended the casting of the spell. The candles returned to normal as the circle started to disappear. Arthur closed his book quickly with a smirk on his face.

"With that, he should now be as docile as a harmless little cat," England declared. _He should be a little more understanding and carefree for a while._ _Hopefully_, he thought to himself, going to pick up the candles and kick the rug back into place.

Just in case it didn't work, England made sure to grab the paperwork from his desk's top drawer.

"I'm back," he announced, walking back into his house's dining room. "They were buried under tons of other stuff I was busy-"

Arthur paused, looking around in confusion. His houseguest was gone. Did he leave? Much to his dismay, the pipe was still leaning ominously in the corner. Russia never went anywhere without that thing.

England went tense, looking around while holding the stack of papers closer to his chest. Where was that damn Kolkhoz? Was he snooping around the house? Or was he hiding with the intent to attack?

All of a sudden, England felt something rub up against his leg. With a yelp of fright, he jumped backwards and fell to the floor, sending the papers flying. He shook the papers off of himself so he could look for the offending source.

"Mew."

Arthur did a double take. He started at the only other life form on this room, and thought, _What the hell is a cat doing in here?!_

Indeed, he was staring at a very light brown cat. It looked like it was somewhere in between kitten hood and adulthood. It sat down in front of the startled nation, staring straight at him in curiosity. The cat purred, seemingly entertained by this whole scenario.

Arthur realized the more pressing issue right now. Russia somewhere loose in his house. Russia was…

"Docile… like a cat…" England thought aloud, staring right into the animal's big, purple eyes. Only then did it hit him. In panic, he crawled backwards a bit.

This was not good! Not good at all! If, or rather when, Ivan returned to normal, he would not be happy! He needed to do something else. Cast another spell or something!

England's hysterical thought process was brought back to reality as he felt something land on his foot. He looked to see that the cat had pounced on his company's shoe, taking firm hold of a plastic shoelace tip in his mouth.

"R-Russia?" Arthur asked. The little beast paid no attention to him, content with chewing on his prize as his tail flicked back and forth in delight.

England sighed. Well, the menace of Russia was gone. But now he had a whole new problem.

…

Lithuania hesitantly pushed the button for the doorbell. He could hear it echo inside the house as he stood there on the doorstep. It was an awfully nice day out, yet he had received a call from England earlier. So much for getting some work done in the garden with Raivis.

Eventually, he heard the unnerving sound of angry stomping heading towards him from the other side of the closed door. Bracing himself for bad news, the door was ripped open and something was shoved at his chest. Toris recoiled with a gasp, quickly grabbing hold of whatever it was. He looked down to see a black duffel bag, with only a slight bit of weight to it.

Lithuania looked up quizzically at Arthur, who looked out of breath. For some odd reason, his hands were a bit cut up…

"It's your issue, now," he spat, going to close the door.

"W-wait! What do you mean?!" Toris asked. Though, he received no reply as the door was slammed in his face. He looked down at the duffel bag again, thoroughly confused over this sudden event. Deciding that the rude Brit wouldn't be coming back out to explain, he went to retreat to his car.

As he sat inside in the driver's seat and placed the bag on the passenger seat, he felt the curiosity consume him more and more. Lithuania shoved the key into the ignition without starting the car. Then, moving as slowly as if he was defusing a bomb (for all he knew, it could be one), he reached for the zipper. He hesitantly unzipped the main part of the bag. At the count of three, he ripped open the top.

Instantly, his fear and nervousness melted as he realized what the contents were. He peered over the opening of the bag with a smile on his face, completely captivated by the small cat stuck inside. Despite the fact that it looked a little annoyed, Toris reached in with both hands to pick up the kitty by the middle, lifting him onto his lap.

"Hello there," he gently said, petting its back. The poor thing was a little bit shorter than his forearm, and seemed a little scruffy. It seemed to glare at him a bit with its big, purple eyes. "I am a bit of a cat person… But how did England know?" he wondered aloud.

Toris smiled, shrugging it off. "Oh well. I'll take care of you until I figure out what to do with you. Okay, kitty?" He drew the cat up to his chest to cuddle it. Instantly, his new friend reached up with one paw and scratched him across the cheek.

…

"I'm back…" Toris tiredly announced as he came through his front door. Raivis came to greet him from the sitting room.

"So… why were you called away?" Latvia quietly asked. He couldn't help but notice the duffel bag cradled in the other's arms. He obviously didn't leave with it, so England must have given him something. Not to mention that his cheek seemed to have been grazed by something.

"Well…" Lithuania started. He put down the bag and unzipped it to show rather than explain. The cat instantly jumped out of his prison, completely through with being confined in there. He haughtily took a step or two, then sat down on the tiled floor to lick down some ruffled fur on his front leg.

"Ah! It's a little kitty!" Raivis happily declared. "He looks a bit older than a kitten… Why did England give him to you?"

"I'm not really sure. I guess… everyone he really knew didn't like cats?" Toris attempted to reason. "I'll take care of him for a while. I'm not sure whether I should keep him or not."

"Cats are nice. It wouldn't be too bad to have one around. You should keep him, Toris," Latvia suggested, carefully squatting down in front of their new guest. Noticing the movement, the cat looked up to see the source. Instantly, Raivis froze. The kitty… It had purple eyes! Just like _that guy_…

He stood up immediately and backed away, starting to tremble in fear. The cat got up, too, and began to follow him curiously.

"What's wrong?" Toris asked, noticing the sudden change in mood. "What is it?"

"Th-that cat i-i-is unnatural! It's evil! C-cat from Hell!" Raivis hysterically tried to describe. Lithuania quickly came up to them, picking up the animal to hold close to his chest. Latvia backed away from his own friend.

"He's a little irritated from the ride here, and being shoved into a bag, but he's not evil," Toris sighed. "I thought you liked cats, too…"

"N-not that o-o-one! Keep it away!" Raivis exclaimed, making a run for the sitting room and leaving a very confused nation behind him.

Estonia came out from the sitting room instead. He must have come while Toris was away. "What's with all of this commotion?" he asked. "Usually he only gets that worked up when Russia is around."

"I don't know. He liked the new kitty at first, then got scared," he sighed in response.

"Well, you do have a big, red scratch across your cheek," Estonia noted. "And Latvia has never been really great with pain."

"I suppose so…"

"You should go get that cleaned up before it gets infected."

Lithuania nodded, a little upset with his friend avoiding him because of a somewhat harmless cat. He began to walk away towards the bathroom, bringing 'the cat from Hell' with him.

"Oh, what's its name?" Eduard asked before he could get away. Toris turned to look at him again, a clueless expression on his face.

"I don't know…" he said, thinking. "I could give him a name right now." He looked down at the kitty sitting comfortably in his arms, which in turn looked back up at him.

Those purple eyes… "Vanya," Toris decided, informing Estonia.

"Vanya…" Eduard said, looking a little sullen now.

"Because… He kind of reminds me of……." He didn't finish that sentence.

"I see," Eduard responded. "It's a cute name for a pet. It has the little 'nya' like the sound cats make, right?" He grinned.

"…Yeah." Lithuania turned away and continued to his bathroom. His first aid kit would have wipes and Band-Aids.

.:.:.

_New place. Big, big place. Nice guy, nice guy's place? I see chasing things. Is that string? More string! Climb on that! Have to climb! …Hungry… Want food… Food… Play or food? Food first._

_Guy give me food. He will. Hey! Hungry! Feed me!_

_Guy called Toris. Right? Toris! Toris! Food, Toris! Food!_

…………_. Toris… ?_

:::

(( End of first chapter! I posted it a bit later than planned, but I was busy with getting a comic ready. I apologize for the delay, XxxLavixAllenxxX!


	2. Process of Hating a Cat Carrier

(( Chapter 2! Yay! Want to know something sad? I meant to start writing this earlier, but it kept slipping out of my mind. I would be daydreaming about a scene that would be cute, then want to start writing. 'Oh, but first, let's see if my stuff was sold in the auction house in WoW'. All of a sudden, I forget about writing.

Something needs to be done about this…

Anyways, chapter 2~ Commence! ))

:::

:_He's coming! Hide! Hide under here. No! Found me! Run, run, run… Hide under here? Found again_!:

"Boo!" Lithuania playfully said, lifting the edge of his couch cover to reveal Vanya hiding. He smiled as he kneeled on the floor, his face pressed to the ground so he could look underneath things.

Instantly, the cat bolted out of his hiding place, and ran towards the TV. Being that he was relatively small, he fit behind the TV table with ease. He peeked out, expecting the nation to come after him.

A little bit concerned, Toris quickly walked to the new hiding place and reached into it. He pulled out Vanya, holding him close while rubbing behind his feline ears. "There are wires back there, silly. I don't want you to accidentally become a crispy kitty."

"You seem to be having fun," Estonia remarked, appearing in the living room doorway.

"Good morning," Toris greeted with a smile. "Is Latvia……."

"No, he stayed at home," Eduard said with a sigh. Lithuania also sighed, ceasing to pet the cat in his arms. It had been six days now since he had brought his new playmate home. Raivis hadn't visited at all, seemingly still afraid of the animal.

:_Don't stop! Pet! Pet me! Come on… Pet me!_: Vanya rubbed his head against Toris' chest pleadingly. He was rewarded with gentle strokes down his back.

"Give him some time. He can't go too long without you," Eduard reassured, seeing the look on the other's face. "We're practically inseparable, right?"

Toris nodded. "You're right. Maybe I should go visit him," he thought aloud.

"Without the cat," Estonia added.

Lithuania looked a little put down, but he agreed. "That would be a good idea."

"By the way, have you taken Vanya to the veterinarian yet?" Eduard asked.

"Oh, no I haven't," Toris realized. "I didn't even think of that. I don't know what he was doing before I got him, but he probably needs his shots. Chances are, he's a stray or something."

"Want me to go get the duffel bag?"

"No, I don't want to put him through that again…" The scratch on his cheek was almost healed now, and he didn't want another.

"Then you carry him on your lap, and I'll drive you there," Estonia suggested.

"But… are you busy today?" Toris worriedly asked.

"If I was too busy then I wouldn't be here to visit," Eduard reassured him with a smile.

…

They sat in the waiting room of the vet's office until they were going to be called in. Lithuania was a little fidgety, worried about the two dogs and their owners sitting close by. The dogs had their gazes fixed on the cat. Vanya would give an occasionally angry growl as a warning while Toris kept him from leaving his lap.

"I wonder if I should invest in a cat carrier," Toris sighed.

"I'm more worried more about the dogs than Vanya. He's quite the brave little kitty," Eduard remarked, going to pet the cat's head. Vanya instantly went to bite his thumb, chewing on it a bit playfully. It tickled more than it hurt.

"Be careful. I don't want him to get used to biting things," Lithuania said. He was distracted, though, as the receptionist called his name. He held Vanya close as he stood up and walked over, Estonia following close behind.

They were led to a small examination room to wait again. Less than a minute later, one of the building's young vets joined them.

"New cat?" he curtly asked.

"Yes," Toris simply answered. "I don't think he's been taken to a veterinarian before. So…"

"We can get him set up with the standard injections. Do you want his claws filed down?"

"No, I think that might upset him."

The vet passed Lithuania a droll stare, knowing that by the end of the day, the cat would hate him anyways. He pulled on some rubber gloves to check the normal things, then clean out Vanya's ears. He didn't seem too pleased, but Toris was petting him.

"Alright, I'll need you to keep a good hold on him now," the young man warned, retrieving the electric shaver to shave away the fur near the injection site.

"I'll give you a hand," Estonia volunteered while rolling up his sleeves, joining Lithuania by his side.

They braced themselves as the vet started to work.

…

"You're really lucky that we've been together so long," Eduard sighed, letting his scratched-up hands and forearms dangle at his sides. Toris was blocking out the stinging from his share of the battle wounds as he held on to the handle of a basic cat carrier provided as a gift from the office.

"I really appreciate this," he nervously replied as they reached the car.

"Just repay me by going to visit Latvia. Without the cat. Okay?" Eduard offered.

Toris smiled. "Alright. I can do that."

They sat down inside, Estonia taking the driver's seat again as he cringed from using his hands to buckle the seat belt. Lithuania buckled his own, then turned the cat carrier in his lap a bit so he could lean over to look inside.

Vanya was hunched over and motionless in the back corner, facing away from his caretaker. Toris felt his heart sink from guilt. He didn't want to hurt Vanya, but this was something necessary. Hopefully the kitty would forgive him.

Eventually, they reached Lithuania's house again. Estonia joined him again so he could get himself cleaned up in the bathroom. As Eduard walked away, his host slowly set down the carrier and unlatched the door. Nothing happened. Toris stood there quietly for a minute, waiting to see if Vanya would come out.

After a minute or two without results, he bent over a bit to look inside the box. The kitty wasn't in the back corner anymore, but he sat curled up in the opening while flicking his tail back and forth in annoyance.

With a sigh, Toris decided to leave him be. He would come out when he felt like it. Filling up hid food bowl might help coax him out, but he wouldn't push the aggravated animal. Lithuania slowly started to walk towards the kitchen at a pace that wouldn't startle Vanya.

:_Toris mean… Leg hurts… Don't like sticky needle. Toris mean, he let white-coat guy stick me. Toris meanie. It hurts… I don't like it. Don't like at all. Sit here. Bye, you go away. Toris is meanie._

_After all I've done for you, protecting Lithuania and such, this is how you help me?_:

Instantly, the nation-turned-cat shot up to his feet, despite the aching pain in his right front leg. He bolted to the kitchen after his caretaker. As he saw him with a box of cat food, he quickly ran up to Toris' leg and planted his paws as high as he could stretch.

:_Toris! Toris! I…_:

Vanya's attention was suddenly turned to the bowl of food as Lithuania filled it. "I guess you must be hungry, huh?" he asked. "I hope you're not too mad at me…"

As the cat started to chow down, Toris gently petted his back. In return, he received a satisfied purring sound.

:_Food… Good… Play now!_:


	3. Do Cats Dream in Color?

((Chapter three! Excitement! Sorry for the delay…

I'm really sorry about not posting this on time. My window of opportunity was ripped away from me… Well, don't worry. The issue was taken care of, and everything is in a better state now. So this means that I should not have any more unreasonable delays.

Thank you for being patient!

Without further ado, Chapter 3, commence!))

:::

"I feel a little bad for inviting myself," Toris said, talking to Vanya as he rummaged through his coat closet. The kitty sat at his feet as Lithuania picked out a light jacket in case it grew colder out tonight. "I know that we're pretty much as close as brothers, but…"

Vanya flicked the tip of his tail back and forth in interest, staring intently at his caretaker. He received a light pat on the head as a reward, and then gave a satisfied purr in return. Toris smiled, feeling relaxed again.

"You know that all your toys are in the living room, right?" Lithuania asked, though he knew not to expect an answer. "Oh! That's right…" he said, feeling a lump in the light jacket draped over his arm. He dug into one of the inner pockets, and drew out yet another cat toy.

With a smile, Toris explained, "Remember when I had to run out last night to get milk and bread? I saw this in a grocery store aisle and had to get it for you." It was a silly-looking little purple mouse with a bell for a nose, crinkly fabric stuffed inside, and a springy pink tail. He crouched over to offer the toy to Vanya. The kitty sniffed at it for a second, then took it into his mouth. He ran away towards the living room, the bell on the mouse ringing out in a plea for its little, stuffed life.

"I need to stop spoiling him," Lithuania thought aloud with a sigh. He couldn't help but buy every cute cat toy that he came across. Now they sat in a pile in the living room behind the armchair, like some sort of pirate's stash. Vanya didn't play with every one, but that didn't keep him from growling and hissing every time Toris gave a sad attempt to clear some of them away.

Without much further delay, he quietly left through the front door. He needed to spend a bit of time with Latvia.

…

"It's getting colder out now, isn't it?" Latvia asked.

"Yes, it's beginning to really turn into autumn. I brought my jacket, thinking that I would need it when it was dark out," Lithuania explained as they were in the middle of eating dinner.

"Well, at least the leaves on the trees are starting to change colors. That's one of my favorite parts of the season," Raivis said with an optimistic smile.

"It's just too bad that it has to get so cold in the process," Toris lightly complained.

"I guess that is true…"

They sat in silence for a minute, continuing to eat. Finally, Latvia spoke up again. "S-so… How is your new cat?" he asked, a little nervous.

"Eh? Oh, he's so adorable! It's much less lonely around my house, now. I get him good cat food and toys, he sleeps at my feet or behind my back at night, sometimes we sort of play hide and seek, and he follows me everywhere," Toris happily said.

Raivis smiled. "That's good. Sometimes Eduard and I worry about you being all alone," he responded.

"You do? Why is that?" Toris asked, genuinely confused.

"N-no reason! I guess it's just because we were always together, and when it wasn't us three, you were with..." He trailed off, not exactly capable of finishing the sentence.

Lithuania knew what he was going to say, anyways. He gave a faint and nervous smile. "Yeah…" It wasn't like it was his choice back then, though.

"Toris… It's been awfully quiet lately…" Raivis quickly said, worry written all over his face. "L-like the quiet b-before the storm."

Toris thought to himself. Counting the days in his head, he realized that the last time Russia came to visit was three days before Vanya came to the house. Vanya had been there for nine days now… Almost two weeks.

"Don't worry! I can go visit him to make sure that nothing bad is brewing up, okay?" Toris offered.

"That would be so great! B-but, only if it's no trouble for you… I'd feel really bad," Raivis replied, looking a little relieved.

_I would feel even worse if something happened_, Lithuania thought. "It's okay. Besides, I could introduce Russia to Vanya. He doesn't really like dogs, but I don't know about cats…"

"Thank you, Toris… Thank you…"

…

Vanya lay by himself on Lithuania's bed, his new toy sitting between his paws. It was dark out, but his caretaker wasn't back yet. It was so boring without someone to follow around. He realized that it was around dinnertime now, as he gnawed on the curly tail of the mouse.

Waiting was so tiresome… Without realizing it, the cat slowly drifted off to sleep.

.:.

_Cold… Freezing… Everything was so cold… Both the snowy air and the blanketed ground._

_Ivan rubbed his upper arms furiously, his heavy jacket doing little to insulate his body. The wind cut right through him while it bit his cheeks and nose. He looked around to try and gain his bearings._

_It was no use. It was too dark, and the snow was coming down too hard. Ivan sighed in desperation, his breath clearly visible in the air. He sunk to his knees while trying to rub some circulation back into his arms as his scarf whipped back and forth in the storm._

_Suddenly, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. And it wasn't from the cold._

_Russia quickly turned around in place as a tattered cloak's ends surrounded him. He knew not to cling to this fabric in an attempt to seek warmth._

_No one could ever find warmth in General Winter's embrace._

_Ivan narrowed his eyes as the shadowy figure stared him down. He wasn't sure how long they just stayed there without moving, but he knew that the cold was seeping down into his bones now. Yet he couldn't bring himself to try to escape._

"_Have you ever thought of someone other than yourself?" General Winter finally asked in his frighteningly raspy tone._

"_Of course," Ivan replied._

"_Lies," General Winter instantly responded. "Your first response to not having your way is to bully those around you. You work more on instilling fear rather than friendship. The outreaches you make to others are to benefit yourself, instead of to help others. Are you even aware of how many people hate you?"_

_Russia only replied with a slight glare, knowing that any response he made would be thrown back into his face. Through the snow, he could make out his company cracking a smile._

"_You do know what situation you are in?" he asked._

_All of a sudden, Russia's memories of the past nine days flooded back to him. That's right! He was a cat… A cat living at Lithuania's house. Every memory of running around, playing, sleeping, and eating came to him in a rush that made his head spin._

"_I decided to take advantage of the situation," General Winter continued. "England may have cast the curse, but I added a time limit on the transformation."_

_Ivan knew better than to get his hopes up._

"_In another twenty-one days, I will come to visit at the beginning of my season. That day, I will decide whether you will return to human form alive… or dead."_

_Russia's eyes widened. "What are you judging me on?" he finally spoke up._

_General Winter gave a menacing smirk. "I will return you to normal if some poor person in the world decides that they actually miss you. Someone who truly loves your pathetic, despicable nation."_

"_That's-" he started to protest, but was cut off by the storm kicking up. He shielded his eyes from the stinging snowflakes. When the wind settled back down to nothing but a slight breeze, Ivan was able to look around again. _

_General Winter was gone. Not even footprints remained from the encounter._

_Russia bit his lip, feeling his chest grow tight. This situation was… impossible. There was no way that anyone would realize in a month that he could even be missing, let alone gone. And how was he to make someone love him if he was a cat?_

_This was very… upsetting. Yes. That was the word for it._

.:.

"Vanya," Toris quietly said, poking his head through his bedroom door. It was the last place to look, since the kitty was nowhere else in the house. Sure enough, his friend was stretched out on the quilt on his bed. He couldn't help but smile when he noticed that Vanya had brought the toy with him. Maybe this one would last longer than an hour or two.

Keeping the light off, Lithuania went to retrieve some pajamas from his drawers. He quietly changed out of his clothes and into the more comfortable sleepwear. After putting the dirty clothes in his hamper, Toris went to the kitty's side.

He lightly petted Vanya, his fur much less messy now in comparison to the day they first met. Toris slightly frowned, though. The cat seemed to be shivering a bit, despite the perfectly comfortable temperature throughout the household.

Lithuania silently scooped Vanya up into his arms, carefully cradling him. He took slow steps up to the head of his bed, and then used one hand to pull back the covers. He crawled into bed, going to rest on his side. Toris pulled the covers over himself and his cat, keeping Vanya close to his chest.

With a tender smile, Toris stroked Vanya comfortingly until he fell asleep.


	4. Things Are Going to Change For You

(( Next chapter! Sorry for the lateness~ I've been working on my webcomic, trying to get it up and ready to post on listing sites. It's all set, now! I posted a link on my userpage. It's about personifications of the United States, and pokes fun at the country's weird/stupid history and facts. I have ten strips up so far, and I'm focusing on Virginia's colonial days at the moment. If you're interested, please stop by!

Oh, yeah! I just downloaded Prussia's theme song! It's the most awesome thing EVER, and I'm listening to it over and over and over. Niyo niyo niyo~

Well, I'll start the next chapter now. Commence! ))

:::

:_What should I do? This is bad… General Winter used to be on my side, why is he punishing me now? Is that- Is that string?!_:

Vanya pounced on the end of a curtain that was unraveling a bit at the bottom. He rolled around while trying to chew on the small bit of string. Suddenly, he stopped what he was doing, then stood up again.

:_No, I can't play! Want to play… No!!! I need to do something about this. I don't want to die. What would the world do without me? Hungry…._:

Vanya suddenly heard the sound of his food bowl being filled. He bolted towards the kitchen, to see Lithuania pouring some dry food into the dish. As Vanya started to eat, Toris picked up the water bowl to go refill it in the sink.

"Eat up, we're taking a bit of a trip today," he said with a smile. Vanya paused eating to look at him for a second, as if he were wondering where. "It's sort of… a friend's house. I want to check on him."

Vanya tilted his head a bit as Toris' expression turned a bit worried, with a slight blush.

…

Lithuania knocked on the door for the third time, a bit perturbed that he was getting no response.

:_No one will answer. After all, I'm not home_.:

It was true, they were at Russia's house. Vanya sat patiently in Toris' arms, despite the waves of frustration rolling throughout his head. Though, he couldn't help but feel a little curious as to why they were there. Lithuania really didn't visit him that often anymore. It was Russia that initiated these sorts of things.

"I hope that nothing's wrong," Toris thought allowed. The kitty just stared at him.

:_If only you knew…_:

"W-well… he might forgive me if I do this just once… It can't hurt. I mean, what if something is actually wrong?" Lithuania reasoned. He kept hold of Vanya with one arm, then went to dig in his jacket pocket. He pulled out a keyring with several keys on it. Toris kept it away with a smile as the kitty tried to reach out and bat at it.

Though, Vanya stopped as he saw his caretaker isolate one key from it. He stared as Toris fitted the key into the keyhole, and slowly unlocked the door.

That key… It was given to Toris a long time ago. From when he and the other Baltics lived at Russia's house.

"I guess I'm lucky that he hasn't changed the lock after all these years. Russia tends to be old-fashioned," Lithuania explained to his cat, as he opened the door and stepped in. After closing the door behind him, he set Vanya down on the floor.

The house was awfully cold… It was a bit unnerving.

"Russia! Russia, I let myself in! Are you home?" Toris called out.

:_Well, I am now. Toris is a dummy_.:

"I'm going to look around a bit. Don't get into any trouble, okay?" Lithuania quietly said to his cat. As he started to walk around, he noticed with a smile that Vanya followed him.

They walked into the kitchen, down the halls, into the bathrooms, and through the rooms. Finally, Toris stopped at the door leading to Ivan's room. He stood there, frozen for a minute or so. When he had gathered enough courage, he pushed open the door and entered.

No one was there. Lithuania sighed in both relief and worry as Vanya went to jump up onto the bed. Toris joined him, sitting on the edge.

"I don't understand… It's like he just disappeared," he quietly said. Vanya rubbed his head on Toris' arm and stared at him with his big, purple eyes. This only provoked a dejected sigh. "Have I ever told you that your eyes remind me of Russia?"

Vanya flattened his ears in annoyance. Even though his predicament seemed a bit strange, how could Toris not figure out who he was?

"Vanya… I have to admit that I'm a bit worried now," Lithuania said, his voice breaking a bit. In response, the kitty walked onto his lap, and planted his two, front paws up on Toris' chest.

Lithuania smiled. "But as long as I have you to keep me company, I think I'll be fine for now," he said, hugging Vanya.

Vanya froze, realizing that something was wrong with this picture. How could Toris miss Russia if he had Vanya for him?

:_I'm going to have to be the worst pet cat possible to make Lithuania miss me_.:

:::

(( Sorry for the short chapter! I promise the next one will be longer.

Also, I have had a few people say, 'what about Belarus?' …That is called _infatuation_, not love, and if is considered to be very unhealthy. ))


	5. Even Animals Hate Traveling

((Hello! Welcome to the next chapter. Sorry for the long overdue update. I had about a month where I was seriously lacking motivation and such. But that block is behind me, now~ I would say that this fanfic is about halfway through… I think.

Anyways, I'll just get started already. Chapter that's longer than the last one, commence~ ))

:::

The curtains were torn. The couch covering was shredded. The food in the food bowl was spread across the floor. The water in the water bowl was soaking into the dry food. The small garbage pails in the house were tipped over. The wooden furniture was scratched up.

The inside of the house was an utter mess. It was as though a small tornado had raged through the house. A tornado with fur.

:_Fun… So fun, funner than before... Didn't know how fun this could be. …Sorry Toris, but I need you to miss the non-fuzzy me_.:

Vanya triumphantly sat on one of the ripped pillows that had been dragged onto the floor, licking his slightly sore paws. He was really tired after all that havoc wreaking. But… it was a strange sort of tired. Not only did he feel physically exhausted, but also he couldn't shake off a settling feeling of fatigue.

Before he knew it, Vanya had drifted off to sleep.

…

When Lithuania walked in through the front door, he instantly froze in his tracks. Going pale, he surveyed the damage done to the entryway alone.

"V-Vanya! Vanya!!!" he frantically called out, running to his kitchen, to his bathroom, and then the living room. Toris spotted the cat laying on a pillow on the floor. Vanya lifted up his head to look at his caretaker, waking up.

:_Sorry Toris, but_-:

In an instant, Lithuania knelt down on the ground and thrown his arms around the kitty, holding him close. "Thank goodness… You're okay! I was so worried that something happened to you!"

Ivan wasn't expecting that reaction. Not at all.

"Who broke into my house, Vanya?" he asked while going to stand up, as if he was honestly expecting an answer. "Whoever did really tore apart everything… It's a mess…"

:_W-WHAT?!_:

"It doesn't look like anything was stolen," the nation thought aloud. "Well, if given the choice, I would rather have my things stolen than lose my dear Vanya. I don't want anything bad to happen to you." Lithuania buried his face in Vanya's fur for consolation.

:_Dummy Toris will be in for a surprise in a few weeks…_:

As Vanya was about the struggle away, he realized something. With Lithuania so close to him, he could feel him trembling a bit.

The nation lifted his head a bit. "I-I've… never had this happen before. My house has never been ransacked… Especially when I was living with Mr. Russia… Although nerve-wracking… I always felt so safe from others with him around," Toris quietly admitted.

Vanya started at him with his big, purple eyes. Ivan had never seen such a panicked and scared look on Lithuania's face before. He almost felt a bit… bad. But how was he to know that Toris was too daft to tell the difference between pet damage and robbery damage?

Surrendering to the fact that this plan had failed, Vanya nuzzled Lithuania's cheek and gave a small mew.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to go off like that. Anyways, I suppose I'll clean things up," he said. Toris went to grab a trash bag to thrown away the damaged items and trash on the floor as Vanya watched from the couch nearby.

"By the way, we're going on a trip tomorrow night," Lithuania told Vanya as he continued to fix the living room. "There's a meeting for the countries that I have to attend. It's in Germany this year, so we will fly there. I had a hard time finding a hotel that allowed pets, but I found a good one. I don't want to leave you behind."

Toris looked over to where his kitty was laying. Strangely, Vanya was asleep.

_That's odd_, he thought. _I've never seen Vanya sleep during the day before…_

He went to take a break to absentmindedly scratch behind the feline's ears for comfort.

:::

It was a relatively short plane flight to Germany from Lithuania. The three Baltics agreed to meet up in the airport at the destination, being that their arrivals were close to each other. Latvia had been the first to come, waiting for the others in a café with his usual trembling and nervous persona.

Lithuania walked over to join him as soon as he spotted the other nation. He set down the small cat carrier and his bag next to the table while greeting Raivis with a cheerful, "Hello! Did you wait long?"

"N-no, not really," Latvia quietly answered. "I think I have been sitting here for about fifteen minutes…"

"I see. That's good," Toris responded, sitting down across from his fellow Baltic country.

"How did Vanya handle the flight?" Raivis asked, actually showing interest in the 'hell cat'.

"When he took off, he seemed a bit restless. But he fell asleep not too long later. Actually, I think he's still sleeping," Lithuania replied. He leaned over in his seat to look through the metal bars making up the door of the carrier. Vanya was curled up in the back corner napping, despite the noise around them.

Latvia had also leaned over to peer inside nervously. "I don't think I've seen a cat sleep deeply before," he quietly said. "I didn't know they could."

A worried expression crossed Toris' face. "You're right," he hesitantly said.

"W-well, he might just be a little bit shaken up from the break-in," Latvia suggested. Lithuania had called him and Eduard to check in with them and inform them about what happened, in case something happened again. "Maybe he was freaked out, so now he's tired…"

"I suppose that's a good point. I want to take him out and hug him and pet him, but I don't think I can, here," Toris whined. "I'm getting Vanya-withdrawal…"

Latvia smiled a bit. "It hasn't been that long though, has it?"

"Still…" Lithuania sighed.

While they talked, Estonia had come to join them. "I just got here," he said, plopping down in an empty seat. "How are you both?" And by 'both', he really meant 'Lithuania', after what had happened recently.

"Good," the other two chimed in.

"Couldn't find a cat-sitter, huh?" Eduard asked, eyeing the cat carrier.

"More like I couldn't _bring_ myself to. I would get too nervous over how Vanya is doing without me," Toris explained.

"You're slowly turning into a crazy cat lady, Lithuania," Estonia teased.

"No way," Toris responded, looking taken aback.

"M-maybe," Raivis added with a smile.

"Not you, too…" Lithuania whined.

"Well, I'm going to grab some coffee, then we can head out. Alright?" Estonia asked, standing up. The other nodded in response.

:::

Toris had been dropped off in front of his hotel, Estonia and Latvia heading towards theirs down the street. It had taken a while of searching, but Lithuania had managed to find a pet-friendly place to stay and make a reservation in time last night. The car ride had roused Vanya a bit, prompting him to sit at the door to look out at his surroundings. Toris started walking inside with his carrier and bag, eager to let the kitty get out and stretch his legs.

It only took a few minutes to retrieve the room key and finish paying. The place was a bit expensive, but it was better than leaving Vanya behind. He headed to the elevator, to the third floor, and easily found the room. Without further delay, Lithuania unlocked the door and entered.

Carefully, he set the cat carrier down on the bed next to his bag, and opened the little door. Vanya just sat there in the opening, flicking his tail back and forth in annoyance.

"Are we going to have a repeat of the day I took you to the vet?" Toris sighed. Well, it was better to let the kitty come out in his own time. For now, the nation contented himself with flopping down onto the bed. "Plane travel can be so tiring…"

It didn't take long for Vanya to slowly exit his little prison and join Lithuania. He stepped onto Toris' chest to lay down on it. He went to rub his muzzle on the man's chin, receiving a happy chuckle in return.

Lithuania gingerly petted Vanya down the length of his back. "I guess you feel the same way, huh? Maybe I'll take a little nap before we head over."

:_Toris… Please save me…_:

:::

The nations had gathered in the lobby of the small convention center that the two-day meeting would take place. It was almost time to enter the conference room. Fortunately, everyone seemed to be in good spirits today, generally getting along. At least for now.

Lithuania had spotted England socializing with France and Spain nearby. The Baltics approached, giving their greeting.

"England, I would like to thank you for giving me the cat," Toris cheerfully said. "It's so great to have a pet. He's such a good kitty, and I'm really enjoying his company!"

England looked a bit nervous, but replied, "No problem. I guess my gamble paid off. For the both of us."

"Both of us?"

"Nothing. Forget it. Thanks for giving it a home," he sighed as Spain and France snickered behind his back for giving Lithuania a gift.

"Eh~ Lithuania has a kitty now?" Northern Italy asked, his attention grabbed away from Germany and Prussia from hearing about a cat. Greece was also listening in, of course, nearby.

"Y-yes! He's the most adorable thing ever! He's a light tan color, and feels so soft and fluffy. And he has the most gorgeous purple eyes. He's so cute! I can't help but continue to buy a whole bunch of toys and things for him," Toris explained.

"I want to meet the kitty," Veneciano joyfully said. "What's his name?"

"It's Vanya," Toris answered.

"How cute!"

The doors opened, allowing the countries to start heading in.

"Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone," Germany ordered his older brother, a bit ticked off.

"Geez, West. I'm not a dog," Prussia spat.

"When you get so drunk that you pass out onto the floor and spend the night sleeping on the good entryway room rug, then you might as well be," Ludwig responded, crossing his arms.

"Such a tightwad," Gilbert muttered, going to leave the building. "See you later, Ita-chan."

"Bye!" Italy called out as Germany started to guide him into the room. Once everyone was in, the doors were closed.

"Hey, you," Belarus quietly said, coming up behind Lithuania. He jumped a little, as she seemed to have come out of nowhere. "Have you seen my elder brother?"

"Actually… I haven't. He's not here today?" Toris responded.

Belarus shook her head in silence.

"I haven't heard from him either, lately," Lithuania added. "I stopped by his house a while ago, but he wasn't there either."

"As did I," she said.

"He wasn't there when you went?"

"No."

"That's so strange…" Lithuania sighed. The fact that Russia's stalker of a little sister did not know his whereabouts was very disheartening.

Before they could discuss the matter further, it was time to sit down. Nearly everyone else had already positioned themselves around the long, meeting room table. Germany had begun to sift through some of the papers, taking attendance.

"Did Russia come today?" he asked the group of nations.

He was met with various answers of people having not seen him. No one seemed to have heard where the large country was.

"So I guess it's safe to assume that no one has an excuse from him for why he's not here," Germany thought aloud. "Does anyone know where he is?"

Lithuania looked over to Belarus and Ukraine, who were sitting across the table. They looked a bit worried, now that no one else seemed to know what happened.

Toris stood up, raising his hand. "Mr. Russia seems to be missing. I haven't heard from him in weeks. He wasn't at his house when I went to check on him, either," he said to inform people that this situation could be a bad thing.

"I see," Germany thought aloud. "We'll address that matter in a bit, then. If absolutely no one knows the status of Russia, then something bad could be going on."

Ukraine nodded to Lithuania in thanks as England sank a little into his seat nearby.

:::

Later that night, quite a few of the nations gathered in a bar down the street. After being in a meeting for hours, many felt the need for some stress relief.

Prussia was getting into mischief with France and Spain, like usual. Already drunk, they were having fun terrorizing the other countries enough to where they were really close to getting kicked out. England was completely drunk, sitting with America at the bar.

Sitting in the corner for dinner while minding their own business, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, and Ukraine sat in a booth. They had been talking about what they should do. Latvia hadn't spoken up, knowing that he didn't really care if the terror was missing. Belarus would most likely break his fingers if he said so, though.

"I don't know if Germany addressed the issue enough," Ukraine sighed, looking a bit scared.

"Well, there were a lot of important things to discuss today. He probably figured that someone like Russia could probably take care of himself while more pressing problems were given attention first," Estonia reasoned. "He did say that we would talk about it more tomorrow."

"Damn Germany," Belarus quietly muttered, livid about the situation.

"You would think that we would talk about it more, since Russia disappearing is a frightening thing," Lithuania said. "People could think that he is plotting something."

He received a glare from Belarus.

"O-or it's frightening that someone as strong as Russia could be missing," Lithuania added in a panic. "It could be a serious threat."

That seemed to placate Belarus, as she returned to staring out the window.

"Do you think we should do anything?" Ukraine asked.

"Well, we should wait until some sort of decision is made tomorrow. We'll see what other people think, and what they want to do. It would be a good idea to create a plan of action after we know whether or not we will have help," Estonia replied.

"That makes sense," Ukraine replied, though she didn't look completely convinced.

"Well, it's getting late," Lithuania sighed. "I have to get back so I can feed my cat. I hope he's not angry with me."

"We'll talk about this again after tomorrow's meeting," Estonia suggested.

Everyone agreed, put enough money to pay the bill on the table, and then left.

Prussia stumbled over to the bar, laughing insanely. "Bartender! Three more beers for the awesome me… and my friends," he declared, slamming up against the bar. He shakily took a seat on one of the small bar stools, trying to stay balanced. Through the drunken stupor, his attention was caught by England's ranting.

"Everyone'sh worried 'bout Russia… I'm not! Ha ha ha!" He laughed, almost falling backwards.

"England, that's such a mean thing to say~" America laughed, not really paying attention.

"No one ish. Every person ish happy! Tha's right! Happy," he declared. "I know, they should thank me… me… They should thank me! He'sh a cat! And I did it. I turned Russia into a cat, Alfred! Isn't tha' cool?"

"I'm happy that you're not a weepy drunk tonight," America simply said, finishing his one and only drink.

"Watch wut yur shaying, t-twat! Or else I'll turn you inna' cat! Ha… I rhymed… But I will. I can turn all everyone into cats! Don't mesh wi' me!" He was suddenly interrupted when he finally fell right off the barstool, passing out onto the ground.

"Honestly… You're going to have a hangover tomorrow morning, and I'll have to listen to you crying and throwing up," America whined, paying the bartender with a generous tip thrown in. He bent down beside Arthur to pick him up and hoist the smaller nation onto his back. He left while carrying England, out cold, after bidding everyone a quick goodbye.

Prussia sat there, completely silent.

"_England, I would like to thank you for giving me the cat. It's so great to have a pet. He's such a good kitty, and I'm really enjoying his company!"_

"_No problem. I guess my gamble paid off. For the both of us."_

"_Eh~ Lithuania has a kitty now?"_

"_Y-yes! He's the most adorable thing ever! He's a light tan color, and feels so soft and fluffy. And he has the most gorgeous purple eyes. He's so cute!"_

_He has the most gorgeous purple eyes!_

_He has the most gorgeous purple eyes!_

Out of nowhere, an ominous smirk grew on his face as the gears started turning.


	6. I Don't Think It Was Shared

((Yay… Finals and studying are over… Vacation makes me happy, so I will be more active. I need to make more fanfics with this pairing, since it is one of my top favorites…

By the way, Merry Christmas!

Anyways, let's get started! Next chapter, commence!))

:::

Lithuania had managed to sleep well after the day of conversing with the other countries. As soon as he had returned to his hotel room, he had changed into his sleepwear and climbed into the soft bed. Vanya joined him, curling up against his chest.

The whole issue with Russia disappearing was unnerving, though… Whatever they decided to do, they had to be careful about it.

Snapping back to reality, Toris realized he was sitting at the meeting table in the conference hall. He had been gazing into space, just thinking about this mess for who knows how long. It seemed that none of the other nations were here yet… Well, he had always been an early riser, after all. It would probably be best to think of some ideas to present to Belarus and Ukraine later.

There was a sudden tugging feeling on Lithuania's pant leg from under the table. Wondering what it could possibly be, he pushed the chair back to find the source.

He was met with a rather surprising sight. Russia was sitting on the floor underneath the table with a happy grin. But that wasn't the strangest part. Attached to the top of his head was a pair of fluffy cats ears the color of his sandy-blonde hair. And a tail could be seen behind him, flicking back and forth.

"M-Mr. Russia!" Toris yelped as he instantly shot up to his feet.

"Lithuania, you look so surprised," Ivan replied. He crawled out from under the table, and then stood up. The smaller nation fell back into his seat, thoroughly confused and taken aback.

Russia sat down on his lap, oddly light, to cuddle up to his chest and nuzzle his cheek. As his heart beat a mile a minute, Toris couldn't help but stare at the cat ears right in front of his face.

"Do you want to touch them?" the larger nation seemed to purr. "They're nice and soft."

Lithuania hesitantly started to reach for the ears, but then withdrew. "Mr. Russia, what's going on? You went missing, and now you're here? And you have cat ears…" he said, remembering the matter at hand.

As if snapping out of it, Ivan got off of Toris' lap. He stood up in front of the other while looking away. His cat-like features had mysteriously disappeared. He was quiet for a few seconds with a troubled look on his face.

"Toris… do you want me to hurt you?" he asked out of the blue, sounding serious yet nonchalant at the same time.

"E-excuse me?" Lithuania heard himself let out as he felt fear grip him, even more confused now.

"I can hit you. I can bruise you. I can cut you, leave you in the cold, break your bones, anything. What do you want me to do?" he asked, staring down at the seated, smaller nation.

Toris leaned forward to bury his face in his hands with his elbows resting on his knees. "I-I don't understand th-this at all. I don't know w-what's going on… What… Is th-there s-something…"

"I do this because I care about you."

"With all due respect, that doesn't make sense…"

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I have no idea how to show you, or anyone, how much I care… I think of what I do best, probably the only thing I can do. But it's not right, is it?"

Lithuania looked up.

"Toris… Despite that… Well… Do you miss me?" Ivan quietly asked.

"I…" He went silent, thinking to himself. It was hard to answer that honestly when this whole situation was so confusing. Everything in his head was a jumble, spinning around as he attempted to make sense of what was going on. Besides, where were the other nations? They should have been here by now.

"… I see," Russia suddenly said, now looking away.

Toris realized that he must have remained silent for too long.

"I have to go now. … If it will make you happy, then you can forget about me. Move on and smile, okay?" He forced a painful-looking smile.

"What are you talking about?"

Ivan didn't answer, simply walking away.

"Mr. Russia! M-Mr. Russia!!!"

…

Lithuania awoke with a start. Looking around, he realized that he was in bed, in the hotel room.

_A dream?_ Lithuania asked himself, sitting up. He looked at the clock to see that he was up a half an hour before the alarm was set to go off. The sunlight was barely peeking through the partially drawn shades of the windows. He just stared at the bit of light, his dream bouncing back and forth in his head. Some of the details were beginning to fade, but there was one thing Toris distinctly remembered.

"_If it will make you happy, then you can forget about me. Move on and smile, okay?"_

That line kept haunting him, even though it was just a dream.

With a sigh, Lithuania got out of bed to get changed. His movement woke up Vanya, who had been sleeping in the same position he got into last night. Toris knelt by his suitcase to pick out his clean suit and brush out some of the wrinkles, and then stripped off his nightshirt to put on his white undershirt.

Vanya stared at Lithuania's back.

The scars were still there.

:_Maybe… I should just give up. Toris is better off without Russia_…:

Toris smiled as he saw Vanya out of the corner of his eye curling back into a ball to sleep. He finished up changing, and then went to fill up the kitty's food bowl for his breakfast.

…

The conversation was more intense today. But, much to Lithuania's dismay, Russia's situation wasn't even touched upon. Before he knew it, everything was over. The nations started to leave their seats after arranging their papers and personal belongings. At this point, calling the issue to everyone's attention was pointless.

He caught Belarus out of the corner of his eye, as she looked at him with an expression of hurt and disappointment. Estonia and Latvia were quietly talking to each other as Ukraine looked about ready to cry. Somehow, Toris felt like he had let them down. Without further delay, he got up from his seat and followed Germany out the door.

Before Germany could reach Italy at the doors, Lithuania intercepted him. "Excuse me, Mr. Germany," he said to catch the taller man's attention.

"Yes?" he responded curtly, turning to face him.

"Well… Simply, I was wondering what happened to us talking about Russia today," Toris said, trying to stand up to him. Sometimes, Germany seemed almost as cold as Russia. Both of them were a bit tall, and rather hard to talk to. But he reminded himself that… well… there was no one colder than Russia.

"At the moment, it isn't a very pressing matter," Ludwig replied.

"Not pressing? What do you mean by that? One of us is missing!"

"Honestly, Russia has disappeared before. He doesn't show up to meetings sometimes, and doesn't talk to anyone who tries to call. He shows up eventually. So…"

"I visited his house, and he wasn't there. I haven't heard from him at all, and… you know how close he is to me," Toris explained.

"I don't think that there's anything we can do right now, but-"

"Fine, I get it," Lithuania said, a bit angry now. "You don't have to explain anything anymore. I'll just have to take care of it myself, since it seems that nobody else cares!"

Germany tried to interrupt him before he could leave, but Lithuania walked away too fast.

"Germany~ Were you being mean to someone?" Italy playfully teased, going to poke his friend's arm.

"… Not intentionally," he quietly said, looking down.

Never really the kind to listen, Italy continued, "Oh! Prussia isn't waiting at the door like you said he would. Did you know that, Germany?"

…

"I tried," Toris said as he walked with Estonia and Latvia.

"Don't worry, we'll think of something. Let's come up with a plan at your room, since it's the closest, alright?" Estonia offered.

Lithuania nodded. "By the way, where did the girls go?" he asked.

"Their plane left tonight, so they had to just leave," Latvia replied.

"I'm worried about them," Estonia said. "I hope that they don't get into any trouble. I know that they will probably start looking for Russia, even if it may endanger themselves."

"We should call them tomorrow, and see if we can include them in any ideas. It will be easier if we all work together," Lithuania said as they walked through the front door.

"That's a good idea," Estonia agreed.

"Oh, sir!" the receptionist called out to Lithuania as he was about to pass by. He stopped as she got his attention.

"Your groomer came by, so I let him in. Your cat probably isn't back yet," she blankly said while chewing on her gum with a bored look on her face.

"Wait… what? My groomer?" he asked, completely confused.

"Yeah. Said you had an appointment for your cat. He left with it hours ago, and hasn't been back since. I would have spotted him immediately," she sighed in explanation.

"I don't have a groomer," Toris responded. His head was swimming with so many thoughts and questions. He was starting to feel a bit panicked. "You just let this guy take my cat?"

"He specifically said 'Lithuania's room', so I thought you knew him. Huh, Lithuania is a funny name. It's sort of like the-"

"Hold on," Toris interrupted her. The two other Baltics looked really worried by this new turn of events. "What was his name? What did he look like?"

"I dunno his name. He has the most gorgeous ruby red eyes, and somewhat spiky white hair. It was almost silver. He kinda looked like he was an albino," she described, with a dreamy sigh.

"Prussia," Eduard muttered in recognition from behind Lithuania's back. Toris' eyes widened in fear of what that could mean.

"We should do something," Latvia said, looking really nervous at the prospect of a confrontation.

"Prussia's probably-"

"At Germany's house," Lithuania completed Estonia's sentence.


	7. Rescuing a Cat in Distress

((I need to work on updating more consistently… Sorry about that! I probably kept you waiting for so long…

I'll just get this started, since you probably can't wait! Next chapter, commence!))

:::

Prussia laughed to himself as he entered his room in Germany's house. He regretted that his brother wasn't here to see his awesome accomplishment and listen to his awesome plan. Ready to be rid of carrying the big cat carrier he brought in, Gilbert tossed it onto his bed. It landed the wrong way, sliding off the opposite side and to the ground. He couldn't help but snort in amusement at the sound of scrambling and panic coming from the creature in the box as the carrier flipped over.

"Nothing really personal, Russia. I just want my rightful place as a nation back. Even if I have to take some of your land in the process. If you want, I'll leave all the crappy, really cold parts for you. Cats have fur, so you'll be just fine!" Prussia let out a triumphant laugh.

"Now excuse me while I plan my course of action," he said, walking out of the room towards the study down the hall.

:_Please…. Help me… Toris… I don't want to die here…_:

. . .

"I have to talk to Germany about this," Lithuania said, stepping out of the bathroom. He had changed into more casual clothing as Estonia and Latvia waited in the main part of the hotel room. When they had walked in, it seemed so empty and lonely without the reason why Toris looked for a pet-friendly hotel. He was having a hard time keeping himself from thinking of all the possible scenarios of what Prussia could be doing with Vanya. Though, it still made no sense why he wanted the cat.

"Do you want his phone number? I have it on my cell phone," Eduard offered, pulling it out of his jacket pocket.

"That would be helpful," Lithuania replied. He took the phone from Estonia after he found the right number in his contacts list.

"It's his house phone number. I don't think he has a cell phone," Eduard added as Toris pressed the green 'call' button.

He sat beside Raivis, prepared for what he wanted to say to Ludwig. It would be a bit awkward, after how Lithuania got upset with him earlier. But he would do anything to get his companion back. Fortunately, he didn't think that Germany had anything to do with this mess.

The ringing tone was replaced with a curt, "Yeah?"

Lithuania froze up instantly. Prussia answered the phone. Somehow, he hadn't thought that this would happen. Now what would he do? Ask to talk to Germany, or confront the problem head on?

"If this is a prank call, I know how to find you punks! Hang up now before I decide to bring the wrath of an empire down on you," Prussia threatened, snapping Toris out of his inner conflict.

"It's Lithuania," he responded, keeping an even tone.

"… Yeah? What do you want?" Gilbert asked, calming back down.

"Well… I'm calling because my cat is missing," Toris asserted himself. "Is there anything you can tell me about this?"

"Why would I know anything about a lost cat? Why would any of the nations know about that?" he scoffed.

Lithuania didn't like the tone of the other's voice. It sounded mocking and sly. There was definitely something that Prussia was hiding from him.

"I'm checking with people I know first, since I was talking about my cat yesterday," Lithuania lied. "No one else besides hotel staff and the other nations should know that I have one."

"I didn't hear anything about you getting a new pet," Gilbert argued.

_I have an eyewitness! How many white-haired, red-eyed men do you think live in this area?_ Lithuania direly wanted to say. But he had to be careful.

"Look, I'm carrying out the most logical step first," Lithuania argued back. Estonia and Latvia had figured out that he was talking to the source, since he was beating around the bush a lot.

"Yeah? Well, ever hear about 'missing' posters? Rent your hotel room for another week, and spread some around. I'm sure a purple-eyed cat can't be _that_ hard to find. Now stop pestering me!" The phone line went dead as the other side hung up.

The expression on Lithuania's face darkened with anger, as his grip tightened on the phone in frustration. "He has Vanya. There's absolutely no doubt about it," he simply said.

"You're sure?" Latvia checked.

"If he claims to have never heard about me talking about my cat before, then how does he know it has purple eyes?" Toris rhetorically asked.

Estonia nodded in agreement as Latvia looked more nervous.

. . .

The three had reached Germany's large house within the hour, as the sun was beginning to set. Germany's car wasn't parked in the driveway, and only a few lights in the house seemed to be on, particularly from upstairs.

"What do you think the best plan of action would be?" Lithuania asked Estonia, keeping his voice down as they quietly made their way up the steps to the front door.

"The respectful thing to do would be to knock, or come back when Germany is home," Eduard replied.

"Although, letting Prussia know we're here could be dangerous. And since we don't know what he wants to do with a cat, there might be such a thing as 'too late' by the time we get in," Toris added.

"Exactly…" Estonia agreed.

"He could be in some cult that sacrifices cats," Latvia suggested.

"L-let's not think about the possibilities, and try to figure this out fast," Estonia said.

"… We could always just go right in," Raivis suggested again. He had opened the door, as it seemed to have been left unlocked.

"I don't really think we should break in," Lithuania nervously said.

"It's not really breaking in if the door is unlocked," Raivis responded.

Latvia had some scary moments in the past, but this was 'logic' that the other two didn't feel comfortable disagreeing with.

"… Alright. Let's see if we can get Vanya without Prussia noticing. Preferably before Germany gets back," Lithuania said, even though this all felt so wrong.

Estonia and Latvia nodded. The three slipped through the door silently, careful not to make too much noise. Estonia gingerly closed the door behind him.

"Should we split up? The house is pretty big," Latvia whispered.

"We need to keep lookout for each other," Estonia whispered back. The other two nodded in accord. Estonia motioned for Lithuania to lead the way.

Practically trembling from thinking of all the reasons why they shouldn't be doing this, including how much trouble they could get into, he took a few steps further into the dim entryway. They all walked together into the living room, then to the kitchen. Nearly all the lights on the bottom floor were turned off, except for the light above the sink in the kitchen. Suddenly, they heard a few footsteps above them. Lithuania covered his mouth and nose to hide his breath, before realizing that he wouldn't be heard from downstairs.

"Bottom floor first," he said in an exceedingly hushed voice, even though he had a sinking feeling that Vanya would be in a place closer to Prussia.

The other two nations nodded in understanding, going back out the way they came in. They all headed towards the hallway leading to the guest rooms and downstairs bathroom. Figuring it would be safe to do so, they split up to search quicker.

The bathroom was empty, as where the tidy guest rooms. Gilbert most likely had his own room here, rather than staying in a guest room. Which meant that it would be upstairs near Germany's room.

Suddenly, they heard someone coming down the stairs from further down the hall. In a panic, they jumped into the nearest guest rooms, Estonia by himself in one and Lithuania and Latvia sharing another one over. The two quickly and quietly got on the other side of the bed without closing the door, hunkering behind it out of sight. Toris held Raivis close, so that his (now violent) shaking wouldn't make any noise. Raivis covered his own mouth while Toris leaned his head forward to lessen his breathing.

The footsteps, most likely Prussia's, passed by Estonia's room. Then passed by Lithuania and Latvia's room. It was a good thing that they had searched in the dark. One second spent going to turn off the lights would have most likely had them found out.

It went silent for a minute or two, the footsteps not returning. They stayed there for what felt like forever. Finally, Prussia came back, most likely from the kitchen, walking past the rooms again. It sounded like he was going back upstairs, without noticing the intruders.

The two nations heaved a sigh of immense relief. When they were totally sure the coast was clear, they stood up and walked into the hallway. Strangely, Eduard didn't seem to be in any of the rooms downstairs. As Lithuania double-checked the bathroom, Estonia came down the stairs slowly. He motioned for them to follow him into another room. They did so.

"I took a peek upstairs," he whispered in explanation. "There are more rooms up there than down here, but it seems to be only one hallway. A few of the lights were on. But the more time we spend up there looking, the more of a chance we'll get caught quicker."

They stood there in silence, not quite sure what to do at this point.

"Oh, I have an idea. It could work," Latvia whispered. He dug his small wallet out of his pocket, reaching into the coin flap. He pulled out a large coin. He then waved for them to follow him. Raivis went into the bathroom, quietly looking through the drawers. He finally found what he was looking for. A hand mirror. "We have to hurry."

Estonia and Lithuania followed after him, ever so slowly making their way up the stairs. They stopped at the top step, where they would have to turn a corner to make it to the hallway. Actually quite brave for once, Latvia peeked around the corner. He lifted the coin in his hand and tossed it all the way down the hall. It made a bit more noise than planned, but created the desired effect.

Prussia quickly stormed out of one room, looking around. Latvia used the pocket mirror to watch him from around the corner as he looked around in confusion. Gilbert went across the hall and over one room to look in one room. After a few seconds, he seemed to be satisfied, leaving for the room he was previously in.

After a few seconds, Raivis turned back to the other two. "He was checking if the cat got out," he whispered. "I know where Vanya is." He stood up, motioning for the others to follow him.

"Latvia's really scaring me today," Estonia whispered in Lithuania's ear. Lithuania shakily nodded in agreement. Though he couldn't bring himself to fully doubt that Raivis knew something so sketchy like this, for some reason.

They rounded the corner and headed down the hall. Fortunately, the room Prussia checked was closer to them than the room Prussia seemed to be staying in. The three slipped in.

Estonia and Latvia stood to the side of the door to keep guard as Lithuania looked around. The swiftly setting sun made the room a bit dark. But he found the cat carrier upside-down on the other side of the bed! He peered into it, happily noting that Vanya was sleeping inside.

Without turning it right side up, he picked up the case by its sides. With a triumphant smile, he nodded to Estonia and Latvia.

But his breath seized up in his chest as he saw they weren't looking at him.

Prussia was standing in the doorway, staring at him.

There was a moment of silence before he spoke. "Congratulations on avoiding my notice downstairs. But this was plain careless." He showed them the coin that Latvia had thrown down the hallway with a pissed-off look on his face.

"So it seems like you somehow figured out that I took your damn cat," Gilbert scoffed.

"Next time, take the back door in the hotel. The receptionist told me about you," Lithuania found himself saying. He had no idea where this courage was coming from. Toris stood up, hugging the cat carrier with Vanya close to his chest.

"I guess I was careless about that aspect," Prussia admitted. "I sometimes forget about how devilishly handsome I am. The girls can't help but notice me wherever I go."

Lithuania considered his options. Gilbert was blocking the only way out of the room. Sure, the three of them outnumbered the one of him, but the ex-empire had way more experience in battle and independence. Not to mention that keeping Vanya safe would get in the way.

"What do you want with my cat?" Lithuania asked, trying to stall for time until he could think of something.

Prussia looked taken aback for some reason. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he asked. Seeing the genuine looks of confusions on his 'guests' faces, he continued, "Wait… you really… don't know?"

There were suddenly footsteps from behind him. "_Bruder_, I'm home," Germany sighed. "What… are you doing?"

Ludwig came close enough to see that Prussia was standing in the doorway to his room with the Baltic trio inside. His expression turned into a combination of anger and embarrassment.

"What kind of nuisance are you getting yourself into?" he asked his older brother through gritted teeth. "Are you troubling them?!"

"Troubling them? _They_ came into our house!" Prussia responded.

"To get my cat back," Lithuania suddenly said. Germany turned his attention to Toris as Toris walked closer. "I asked him to keep an eye on my cat, since he had free time today."

Everyone except Lithuania looked confused as he claimed this. His other two friends caught on quickly, nodding in agreement.

"Alright…" Germany skeptically said, not looking completely convinced.

The three nations passed by Prussia as he stepped aside for them. Gilbert glared at Lithuania in anger. Lithuania glared back at him, as if saying, 'I'm above the likes of you'.

"I'll walk you out," Germany offered them. As they headed towards the stairs, he turned his head while narrowing his eyes to say back to Prussia, "We're going to have a talk."

Gilbert stomped back into the study to burn all the plans he had come up with in brutal frustration.

Downstairs at the front door, Germany stopped Lithuania before he could leave. Estonia and Latvia took the hint, going to bring the car around.

"I know that my brother was causing problems again. I won't ask why, but I'm sorry that this happened," he apologized.

"It's okay," Toris quietly said, tightening his grip on the cat carrier.

Ludwig reached into his own chest pocket to pull out a folded piece of notebook paper. Seeing that the other probably couldn't grab it, it placed it on top of the carrier. He was met with a look of confusion.

"Well… I went around to some of the other nations before they could leave. I have a list of names and phone numbers of those who will help in looking for Russia. They agreed that we're going to wait another week or two in case he comes back. But they will make an effort then to figure out what happened," Germany quietly said. "We'll find him."

A smile spread across Lithuania's face. "Th-thank you!"

"I shouldn't have shrugged it off like I did. I apologize," Ludwig said. "I'll talk to you in a week."

Toris nodded contently. With one last 'thank you', he left for the car.

As he sat down in the backseat with the cat carrier on his lap, Estonia driving and Latvia sitting up front, he took the paper off the top to shove in his pocket.

Feeling more at ease now, Lithuania looked through the cage door at Vanya, who was lying curled up in the back.

"He slept through all of that?"

:::

((I love Prussia, but he just makes an awesome villain. Sorry, Prussia!))


	8. At What Cost?

((Next update~ Whoa, could this be the last chapter? Maybe. We'll see where this ends up, huh?

By the way, I'm in the middle of writing another long story, this time featuring America and England. It will be an adventure across time with drama and suspense. It's probably going to be my best work by far, so keep an eye out for it in the near future!

Without further ado, let's begin!))

:::

Stress seemed to pile upon Lithuania more and more as the week passed by. He had returned home shortly after the incident with Prussia, nearly a nervous wreck. Not only was Russia missing, but also he just couldn't come up with a logical explanation for why Prussia took Vanya. Not to mention that he couldn't help but wonder if he would be too late in searching for Russia if the other nations decided to wait another week or two before helping out.

The worst thing that was going on… Well, Vanya hadn't been the same. It seemed that with every passing day, his cat wanted to play less and less. He often slept, and seemed to have to put effort into getting up to eat. It was as if he was losing energy, for some unknown reason. Something had to be done about this.

Although it pained him to do so, Toris couldn't put off grocery shopping anymore. He really didn't want to leave Vanya on his own, but there was no other choice in the matter. Although, this would give Lithuania a chance to visit the vet in order to set up an appointment. He sincerely hoped that there was some solution to this, and also that this wasn't caused by Prussia. He didn't know if he would have the courage to confront Gilbert at this point.

Lithuania took one last look at Vanya, who was curled up on the couch, before heading towards the coat closet for his heavy jacket. It was getting colder outside as winter approached. He wouldn't be surprised if the first snowfall occurred within the next week. For some reason, the thought of the beautiful, snow-blanketed scenery outside didn't comfort the nation. He couldn't help shake off this feeling of dread. It was as if he knew something bad would happen. Except for the fact that he didn't know what.

Chalking it up to paranoia after his house was broken into and Prussia stole Vanya, Toris continued to button up his jacket. He then left the warm comfort of his home.

…

Ivan was roused from his sleep as he heard the front door close. It was most likely his caretaker leaving to run errands. The cat summoned up the strength to get up to his feet and jump off the couch. He walked the short distance to the window, and jumped back up. He made it in time to watch Lithuania drive away.

The house was silent now as he was left alone to stare at the thick clouds in the sky blocking out the sun. It would snow soon. After centuries of being a cold, northern nation, he knew how to tell when it would.

And when it did…

Russia leaned his small, furry head against the cold window's glass, closing his eyes in dejection. So this was the end of him. This was how Ivan would fall, without knowing what would become of his country and people. He could feel his body growing more weary as death was fast approaching.

He opened his eyes. Suddenly, he noticed something was different. His point of view was higher than the sitting on the windowsill, he seemed to feel weight put on only two legs, and a hand was reaching out to touch the window. His hand.

Russia withdrew it to look down and examine himself. His breath hitched in surprise as he realized that he was actually normal again.

Although, his body still felt weak. He leaned against the wall for support, but ended up sliding down to sit on the floor. Ivan was suddenly distracted from this change as he noticed the temperature in the room rapidly dropping. In a matter of seconds, his breath became visible in the air as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

He leaned back against the wall further, sinking down a bit lower. As he did so, a patch of ice became apparent on the floor in the living room doorframe. It slowly spread into the room as if it was some sort of path, heading straight towards his position.

A dark shadow materialized in front of him, standing in the middle of the ice path, the room growing darker. The shadow was now in the form of a tall man wearing a tattered cape.

General Winter.

"You're right. I haven't really released you," the entity said, confirming Russia's suspicion before he had time to even think it fully. He kneeled in front of the nation, ice spreading further across the wall and around Ivan without touching him.

"Beg for your life," General Winter commanded, his voice raspy and threatening.

After a slight pause, Ivan slowly shook his head and looked away from his tormentor's eyes. "Even if I did… you would never let me go," he stated, finding his voice after weeks of being unable to speak.

General Winter chuckled, a sound that wasn't reassuring in the slightest. "Smart boy," he ironically praised. "So, Russia. You still have some time, but at the rate you're going, you will fail. It has been a while since I have last visited you, but no one has loved you enough to wish you back."

Russia direly wanted to protest, but he had no evidence to argue his claim. Knowing he was defeated, he looked into the cold, hard eyes of his judge. He had a request.

"What is it?" General Winter asked, as if reading his mind.

"… Let me say goodbye to Toris. Even if he might not care about me… I really care about him," Ivan admitted.

"Why?"

Russia thought to himself, remembering all the times that he shared with Lithuania during their lives. Everything to the times where he controlled Lithuania, to when they spent time together out of free will. Of course Toris was always there when living in his boss's house. He seemed to be Russia's favorite, always the one to take care of most of Ivan's needs. He may have been one of the first to leave, but he never truly left. Despite the abuse he had suffered after all that time, Lithuania actually came back to visit. He never seemed to lose hope in the cruel, larger nation. He would come to visit, to just be with Russia. He genuinely cared about Ivan's wellbeing. There was nothing else that touched his bitter heart than the person who wanted to come visit out of his own free will with trust and little to no fear.

"Because… He is the most important person to me," Ivan quietly answered. "I don't know if he loves me, but he has been there for me whenever I needed him. Of everyone I know… Lithuania is the one that I love."

General Winter went silent, as if thinking about what he was just told. The silence was beyond uncomfortable, Russia wondering what response he would get.

"Alright," he agreed, standing back up to look down at the nation that he had once helped way back in the past. Ivan's eyes widened a bit in surprise as he looked up into General Winter's eyes.

"You have five minutes to be human. Then you will return to being a cat," he continued.

"Wait! But, Lithuania isn't going to be back in five minutes, he went out for errands," Russia protested.

"Well, then you better hope he forgot something and has to come back for it," General Winter responded with a smirk.

In the blink of an eye, everything was back to the way it was before. The room was brighter, the patch of ice was gone, and General Winter was nowhere to be seen.

Ivan looked down at his hands, opening and closing his fists. He knew that Toris wasn't going to come back. His last request hadn't been granted the way he wanted.

Although, he was struck with a sudden idea. Hoping that General Winter wasn't watching him, Russia shakily stood up. He had to make it to the kitchen. It was easier said than done, since he barely had the energy for his legs to support himself. But he ambitiously grabbed onto the furniture surrounding him as he walked through the room. Ivan made it to the doorway, clinging to it tightly. He then realized that he had to cross the hallway, where there was nothing to hang on to. Not to mention that the hallways were wide. With determination, he quickly took steps forward and reached the other side to lean on the wall. His vision was swimming from how much effort he was putting into getting this done.

Trying to move hastily, he continued his way to the kitchen. Once instead, he used the counters as a sort of stationary crutch to reach the telephone. Finally, his work paid off as he reached it. Feeling a bit triumphant, he went to pick up the handset.

But he noticed with dismay that Toris had left his cell phone behind to charge, sitting next to the house phone. Ivan slammed the phone back into the receiver as his plan was ruined.

One last idea came to him. Having little time to waste, Russia reached for the junk drawer nearby. Luckily, there was a notepad meant for writing shopping lists, and a barely sharpened pencil. He immediately began writing his note to Toris, writing what he felt, not thinking about the best way to write it. He just wanted to finish it before…

Suddenly, he felt very dizzy. Russia fell backwards before he could finish, hitting the ground. Before drifting off to sleep, he could feel that his body had taken its small cat form again.

…

Lithuania sat up in his bed, in his sleepwear, with Vanya curled up asleep beside him. Even though it was very late at night, he couldn't seem to turn in. His mind was racing, but his thoughts weren't organized. It was a reaction that he had experienced before, when overwhelmed.

Eyeing the overturned note that he held in his hand, Toris brought it back up to eye level before rereading it again. He had completely lost count of how many times he read it, or had not bothered to count in the first place.

_Toris, I have to go. I won't be able to ever return._

_Out of all the people that I am leaving behind, you are the one I will miss the very most. You are very special to me. You deserve to know that._

_I'm sorry for everything I did. But thank you for everything you did._

_Goodbye, Toris. I lo_

The note was cut off, as if the writer had to stop writing it out of nowhere. Lithuania stared at the letter blankly, capable of recognizing Russia's handwriting anywhere. What he just couldn't understand was why he was leaving. And why did Ivan write a note instead of speaking to him directly? How did he get inside the house, and why did he leave the note unfinished?

The problem that was bothering Lithuania the most was the question of what he should do about this.

It seemed that this was some sort of choice or action that Russia made. He wasn't kidnapped or hurt somewhere. For some unknown reason, the large nation was leaving. But where was he going? Did the word 'leaving' have a deeper meaning than he thought?

_I won't be able to ever return._

Did that mean… Was Russia dying?

Fear gripped Lithuania's chest as all the possibilities ran through his head. His imagination was running wild, and he hated it.

…

When Toris reached Russia's house in the morning, he couldn't see any noticeable changes since he last came. He drew the key out of his pocket, and went to hurriedly unlock the door. Feeling it click, he turned the handle and stepped inside.

Closing the door behind himself, he started calling out, "Mr. Russia! Mr. Russia! Are you here?!"

His voice echoed, and received no response. Before he knew what he was doing, Toris found himself running through each room of the house. He searched every room, including the attic and the basement.

Nothing.

Returning to the kitchen, Lithuania took a peek inside the refrigerator. Nearly all the food had expired, first bought weeks ago. Everything was untouched. Closing the door again, he just stood there.

Lithuania suddenly sunk down to his knees, sitting on the floor. He was filled with terror, his throat feeling choked up as his heartbeat grew faster. He had no idea what was going on. And frankly, it scared him more than the time when he was under control of Russia and living at his house.

Unable to control his thinking and actions, Toris got back up to his feet. Slowly, he started making his way around the house again to check in all the rooms.

Again and again, he continued to check every space of the empty house, a lost expression on his face.

…

This continued for days. Growing more and more emotionally distant, he would drive to Ivan's house in the morning. He would look throughout all the rooms over and over, occasionally stopping in the living room or kitchen to wait for the larger nation to return home.

One day, he couldn't bring himself to leave. His mind subconsciously thought that perhaps Russia was coming in the middle of the night. He was too far gone to string this thought together, or realize how improbable this was, but whatever was controlling him made him stay.

After his usual rounds, he took a seat on the antique couch in the living room. Lithuania didn't even bother to turn on the lights as the sun began to set through the window behind him. The nation just sat there, staring ahead at open space while his eyes were cloudy with nothingness.

It soon grew dark, and Lithuania had not moved at all. The darkness of the house closed around him, as he continued to wait for Russia to come home. He waited… and waited. He listened for the sound of the front door opening, or for anyone to be walking around the house.

A broken man, Toris sat there for hours.

…

Lithuania suddenly came to when the little light shone into his eyes from the rising sun through the clouds. He looked from side to side from his sitting up position on the couch. He recognized the foreign surroundings as Russia's house, compared to his bed at home. The realization hit him that he had spent the night alone and uncomfortable, waiting for someone who was never going to return.

Lithuania rubbed at his tired eyes as his chest felt tight. How much time had he wasted in this fruitless endeavor.

Out of nowhere, he couldn't help but let out a sharp gasp of horror.

VANYA!

Toris leapt out of his seat, ignoring the protesting of his stiff joints from his terrible sleeping position. Still in his coat, he raced out the front door and slammed it behind him. Sprinting to his car, he took the keys out of his pocket. At record speed, he unlocked the door, buckled his seatbelt, started the car, and began to drive.

As a few snowflakes began to fall from the thick, dark clouds in the sky, Lithuania bit back tears. When was the last time he fed the cat? Was it yesterday morning? Or at night two days ago? Or three mornings ago? How many days had he even followed this insane routine?

He didn't care if he got a speeding ticket, he wanted to be back home as fast as he could possibly get.

…

The snow had also begun to fall in his home town as he parked in the driveway. Shaking in fear of what he would find, Toris quickly made his way into his house. He didn't even bother to hang up his winter jacket, throwing it to the floor in the entryway.

"Vanya! Vanya!" he called out, his voice full of the sound of panic. Lithuania ran through the house, checking the living room first. The cat wasn't on the couch, or chair, or beneath any of the furniture. He ran to the kitchen next, only to find it empty. It wasn't the only thing empty. So was Vanya's food dish and water bowl. At this point, Toris wasn't sure if he would be able to keep from crying much longer.

He checked the bathroom and guest rooms to no avail, before reaching his room at the end of the hall. Lithuania stepped in, and spotted his companion laying on the bed's pillow.

His legs shaking, the nation approached the bed. He sat beside the space where Vanya was laying, unsure of what to do. Hesitantly, Toris reached over to gather his cat in his arms, cradling him close. He couldn't help but crack an optimistic smile as he felt Vanya's chest slightly moving from breathing.

But the situation wasn't good. The small animal didn't respond to his caretaker's touch. He seemed to still be asleep.

Toris's eyesight grew hazy as his eyes began to water. He stood up, keeping Vanya close to his body. Vanya was barely giving off any heat. The nation made his way over to the kitchen, trying not to jostle his little friend.

He reached the cabinet with the cat food. Holding on to Vanya firmly with one arm, he used the other to pull out the bag. He shimmied over about three feet to crouch in front of the food bowl.

:_Toris…_:

Lithuania carefully poured enough dry food into it without letting it spill over. Still, he received no reaction from Vanya. Not willing to give up yet, he scooped a small handful of the food up to lift it to the cat's face. "Vanya, it's food… Aren't you hungry?" he asked, his voice wobbling as he grew desperate.

:_It's okay, Toris…_:

Only receiving a small twitch in response, Lithuania gave up on that method. Continuing to cradle Vanya close to his chest, he walked over to his refrigerator and opened it. He retrieved a can of wet food and popped the top on the counter nearby, shoving the door closed with his foot.

Toris took a small pinch of the food to hold it up to Vanya's nose. "See? It's your favorite. Will you eat some? I know I don't give it to you very often, but…"

He stood there for at least half a minute, unable to think of what to do next. Vanya wasn't responding to him at all. Without another word or thought, Toris found himself walking into his living room. He took a seat on the armchair with Vanya in his arms.

:_I'm sorry…_:

Finally the tears were freed from Lithuania's eyes, as if someone had opened a floodgate. He let out a choked sob from trying to breath. "What… h-have… I done?" he let out in a small voice, hugging his cat close.

:_This is my fault… Don't be sad…_:

"What have I done?!"

:_I'm sorry… Don't… be sad…_:

Toris's throat was too tight to say anything else. He buried his face into Vanya's soft fur. It absorbed his tears as they continued to spill out. He felt Vanya gently nuzzle his cheek.

:_Good… bye….. Toris… I… love……_:

"At what cost…" Lithuania muttered as Vanya suddenly seemed to grow a bit heavier. "At what cost?!" he repeated, raising his voice and lifting his head from the comfort of the cat's fur.

"I-I… Why… Why didn't I realize it sooner? I spent… so much time waiting for him… Why did it take me this long?" he demanded to know, his thought process barely coherent.

"I… love Russia… But why did it take _this_ to make me snap out of it and realize it?" he asked no one, his grip carefully tightening on Vanya. "I… I wish he was here… R-right now… Then I would have never left you alone, Vanya…"

He sniffled and sobbed. "I know my feelings now… But at the cost of my friend's life… I'm the worst… The very worst." He cracked a smile and went to give a shaky stroke across his cat's back. "I love you, Russia. You fool. I wish you were here… For me…"

All of a sudden, a bright light shone in his face, causing him to shield his eyes. The brilliance filled the room for a few seconds. As it died down, Toris took his hands away from his eyes to see what the cause was.

The first thing that he noticed was that Vanya was gone. His cat was no longer in his arms, and wasn't on his lap. Toris quickly stood up in surprise. Doing this, he came to notice what was laying on the floor in front of him.

Ivan. He was lying sprawled out on his back, his hair tousled and his scarf askew. His eyes were closed, yet a few tears remained on his cheeks.

"Mr. Russia!" Lithuania exclaimed in shock. He looked from side to side, not seeing Vanya anywhere. Was it possible… That Vanya was really…

Toris dropped to his knees by the larger nation's side with a relieved smile on his face, his tears subsiding. "Mr. Russia! You're here!" He reached out to carefully cup a hand around the other's cheek.

Toris froze, feeling that Russia was cold to the touch. His mouth moved to form his name, but no sound came out. Hoarsely, he finally let out a faint, "M-Mr. Russia…"

There was absolutely no response or visible movement to the sound of his name being called out. Russia was paler than he had ever been before.

"Russia… wake up…" Toris demanded as his breath began to hitch. "Please… open your eyes… Russia…" He tried giving the nation's shoulder a light shake in desperation.

"I-Ivan," he cried, followed by a strangled sob.

:::


	9. An End to This

((Surprise! This is the real last chapter. Though I think you guys knew that the one before wasn't the actual conclusion. Since I left you at a massive/depressing cliffhanger, I think you would like to read what happens next. You're probably even skipping or skimming this beginning note.

But what I want to say before I begin, is thank you for all your favorites, alerts, attention, and especially reviews and feedback! This has been an enjoyable ride for my first fanfiction to reach over 100 reviews! You have all been great, and I appreciate your support. I hope you stick around to read any of my future fanfics.

Without further ado, here's the final chapter of 'The Kolkhoz Kitty". Commence!))

:::

Lithuania sat in the comfortable chair beside his living room window. He stared up at the sky through the glass, where the snow slowly and gracefully made its descent to the ground. It was a peaceful and quiet night scene, perfect for the end of Christmas Eve.

His gaze moved down to see how much snow covered the trees and the ground, making everything look purely white as the light grew darker. He closed his eyes halfway, tired and sullen. His house was too quiet… And too lonely. He hated it. Ever since that day… Well, it was hard to get out of bed from all the worry and sadness that he suffered from.

Toris closed his eyes and leaned his head back in the chair to relax a little more. Although, he knew that doing so always made his thoughts more audible. He was no longer distracting himself from thinking by staring at his surroundings. But perhaps it was better to listen to himself sometimes.

_Ivan… where are you now? And how are you?_

He opened his eyes to look back outside his window, taking comfort in the serenity of the capability of snow staying bright as the sunset behind the clouds. It was still hard to keep himself from feeling anxious. There were so many questions that he wanted to ask Russia… But now he couldn't. He probably never could.

Depending on…

Suddenly, he heard his front door open. Wondering who it could be at this time, he stood up and walked away from his armchair. He had politely declined on spending Christmas with Estonia and Latvia this morning, wanting to stay at home. His plans had changed, based on a single phone call.

Lithuania left his living room to head towards his entryway. He stopped dead in his tracks as he realized whom his visitor was, taking off his snow-covered coat and wet boots. A water pipe was now leaning against the corner next to his door.

Russia lifted his head to look up at Toris when he noticed that the smaller nation had joined him. With a hesitant and slight smile, he asked, "Am I too late for one of Lithuania's delicious meals?"

Toris was gob smacked, wondering if this was an illusion. He slowly took a step or two forward, his eyes instantly watering up as his face grew red. With a sniffle and a sob, he threw himself forward into Russia's arms. A bit unstable on his feet at this point, Ivan couldn't help but fall backwards, leaning back against the closed door with Toris clinging to his chest.

Russia embraced him also, stroking the back of Lithuania's head comfortingly.

The gesture snapped the smaller nation's head back to look into Ivan's eyes, an angry expression on his face despite the tears running down his face. "How could you? You left the hospital without a word! Do you have any idea how worried I was when I received the call from your doctor? Since you were in a coma for so long… I thought that maybe someone kidnapped you…" Toris vented. He resorted back to crying.

"_No… No… This is my fault. I should have realized it sooner," Lithuania wept. "I killed you… H-how… How could I…" His half-crazed thought process was smothered by despair as he blamed himself._

_He seemed to almost run out of tears, as his eyes became dry. Toris came closer to Russia, lying down beside him. He cushioned his head on Ivan's large chest, closing his eyes with no desire to do anything else for a long time. He didn't care how long he would stay without moving from this spot. He couldn't imagine doing something else with his life at the moment as long as his beloved was dead._

_He was abruptly surprised as he came to recognize something. He felt his breath seize up, as he was able to pick up a faint heartbeat from the other nation's chest. It was feeble, but it was there. And his chest was rising and falling ever so slightly._

_In one quick motion, Lithuania shot up and bolted to his kitchen for his phone. He dialed for an ambulance as fast as he could, with hope blossoming in his heart._

"Why did you suddenly leave without telling me?" Toris asked while narrowing his eyes accusingly.

"It's okay, I checked myself out," Ivan tried to reassure him. It came to Lithuania's attention that the larger nation was still wearing the hospital pants and shirt, his coat and boots having been pulled over it (his clothes had been stored in a small cabinet in the room). Of course, he had also grabbed his trademark pink scarf.

"By checking out, you mean 'disappearing without telling anyone'?! And that was this morning. Where have you been?" Lithuania demanded to know, since the hospital that Russia was admitted into was only a ten-minute drive away.

"I don't think Lithuania has ever raised his voice this much to me before," Ivan declared with a smile. "I had to go thank someone for getting me into this mess that brought us together."

Toris's expression immediately turned into a very concerned look. England was the one who gave 'Vanya' to him two months ago. So… Did that mean…

"Don't worry, I didn't leave him behind without telling someone about his… current condition," Russia reassured him. 'Condition' implied that Russia had probably used his pipe to show his appreciation.

Deciding to let this go before he became the next one to suffer, Toris sighed. "I was so worried…" he quietly said, looking away.

"I'm sorry, Toris…" Russia apologized with a smile. "I wanted to surprise you in time for Christmas."

"This is awfully sudden, though. You were asleep for so long… that I didn't think you would… make it. How did you wake up?" Lithuania asked.

"I didn't know what was going on as everything was dark… But I kept thinking about how badly I wanted to see you. So I suddenly found myself in a hospital bed, wondering what had happened as I heard some people walking in the hallways while talking about Christmas," he explained, slightly clueless about the situation himself.

The conversation was interrupted by the sound of Ivan's stomach growling.

"Ah! Well, I'll make something right away! We can have dinner," Toris offered, blushing while he backed up. He got to his feet, and offered Ivan a hand up. With a pleased smile, he took Lithuania's hand.

It was harder to pull up the taller and heavier Russia than Lithuania had neglected to realize, but he managed to do so.

…

It was only a short while later that Ivan was sitting at Toris's dinner table, happily eating the food that his host had quickly prepared.

"So good," he simply declared before taking another bite with a very pleased look on his face. Lithuania contented himself with watching Russia from the chair next to him with a smile, leaning his chin on his hand with his elbows on the table. He had eaten a small dinner earlier already.

"I've been thinking," Toris started to say, grabbing Ivan's attention. "I think I might adopt another cat. I really miss having one around the house. I mean, I'm not saying that I missed you being a cat! I like you like this again! But I like cats too, and now there's not one around, so…"

As Toris was getting red in the face and more flustered, Russia plainly said, "Don't."

"Huh?" Lithuania stopped trying to explain himself. "Why not?"

"Because… I can't stand for Toris to divide love between a cat and me. I want Toris to show affection only for me," Russia justified with an unsettling smile on his face.

As Lithuania turned a deeper shade of red, he tried to reply, "But… It's just a cat… I'll love you both, but in different ways, you know? It's just a bit lonely by myself, is all…"

"Nyet."

Toris knew to stop pushing the issue. He fell silent in defeat, a look of disappointment clearly apparent on his face as he stared down at the table.

Suddenly, he felt something brush his cheek. Lithuania glanced over to see that Ivan had leaned over to nuzzle his cheek tenderly. "I guess I'll have to spend some more time with Toris then, yes?" he suggested in a gentle voice.

"Y-yes…" Lithuania shyly agreed, going a bit red in the face.

Ivan gingerly took hold of Toris's jaw with his thumb and forefinger to turn his face towards him. Without another word, Russia brought their lips together, kissing Toris. Lithuania grew a deeper shade of red, especially as he realized that he liked this.

When they were finished, he smiled, leaning his head forward to lean on the larger nation's shoulder. "I'm glad that you're okay…" he choked out, feeling tears form in his eyes again.

Russia embraced him comfortingly. "I am, thanks to you."

"Although… you could have realized my situation a little earlier…" he added, a bit of frustration in his voice. Toris tensed up nervously.

…

"Urgh… My head…" England complained, lying on his couch with a bag of ice on a rather large bump right above his hairline.

"I'm done! I'm done, England!" America declared, running into the living room. He brought with him a freshly cooked burger on one of the nice china plates. In one fluid motion he had come to sweep the bag of ice to the floor. Before Arthur could protest, he found the burger on his head as a replacement.

"Get this off of me, idiot!" he spat, trying to move to take it off despite the pounding in his head that protested the movement.

Alfred grabbed his wrists to restrain him. "It works! Trust me! A hero never lies!"

"But apparently a hero can be exceedingly daft!" He tried to break away.

"Come on! You never listen to me! I know what I'm doing, this makes me feel better every time!" America loudly whined. This only made England's headache worse.

He sort of knew that this was his just reward. But he couldn't believe that Russia would be cruel enough to call this brat of all people to take care of him. That was low.

…

…

As Ivan rested on the couch in the living room, Toris kept himself busy by cleaning while keeping an eye on him. He searched underneath the various pieces of furniture to see if he had accidently left some cat toys lying around. He found some under the decorative chair. Lithuania haphazardly tossed each one out into the middle of the floor behind him so he could reach deeper and deeper underneath.

Suddenly, he heard a loud thump behind him as something hit the floor. Toris shifted backwards to sit up on the floor and see what the source of the noise was.

Russia had moved from lying down on the couch to kneeling on the floor. He was nearly on his stomach as his arms had reached out to grab the purple mouse toy that Lithuania had tossed. Ivan noticed the bewildered look on Toris's face as he stared at him in disbelief.

A very faint smile of amusement crossed Lithuania's lips. As if nothing had happened, Russia straightened back up. He shimmied over a bit to sit in front of Lithuania, as Lithuania realized that he made a dire mistake.

"If you tell… _anyone_ about this, I will be forced to harm you. Understand?" Ivan asked. Toris knew that the larger nation was thoroughly embarrassed inside, despite the intimating demeanor Russia was trying to exert.

Feeling quite courageous for once, Toris smiled more visibly. He leaned forward a bit more to bring his lips straight to Ivan's in an affectionate kiss.


End file.
